RWBY: Switched!
by ThePhantomScribe
Summary: What if team JNPR's and RWBY's stories were switched? Jaune is the prodigy trying to fit in, Pyrrha is the loud and overprotective partner, Nora the bratty Heiress, and Ren the bookworm with a hidden past? Everything gets switched except Ruby and Yang stay siblings and Jaune and Pyrrha keep the Arkos vibe cuz that stuff's way too moe to break! SwitchFic? RWBY!JNPR and more!
1. Jaune Arc

_**Episode 1: Jaune Arc**_

_"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul."_

* * *

><p>"Do you have <em>any<em> idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

A redhead man in a black bowler hat flicks his cigar at the counter of a shopkeeper's dust store as several sinister-looking henchmen spread out around the shop. One of the henchmen points his gun at the shopkeeper who desperately raises both hands in the air.

"P-please! Just take my Lien and leave!"

"Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh, calm down," the criminal continues placatingly, "we're not here for your money."

He then snaps his gaze to his henchmen as he barks out the next order, "Grab the Dust."

A henchman opens a case and removes one of several cylinders, which the group uses to take Dust from the tube containers on the walls. As another henchman goes for another tube, he hears the muted This Will Be the Day song from the back corner of the store, and unsheathes his sword as he approaches a lone teen from behind.

"Alright kid, put your hands where I can see 'em."

The blonde kid in a hoodie merely continues reading his X-Ray and Vav comic as the music blares on.

"Hey, I said hands in the air! You got a death wish or something!?"

Walking over to him, he turns him around, dropping the hood to reveal a surprised Jaune Arc is wearing headphones. The annoyed henchman motions for him to lower them, after which the blonde finally responds.

"Yes?"

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!"

Jaune's eyes narrow ever so slightly as several thoughts cross his mind. _Are you kidding me!? Of all the hundreds of shops in Vale, he's robbing the one with me in it! This guy, seriously, has the worse luck ever! Ohoho, if there were an Olympics for bad luck, he'd be Michael Phelps hands down! Oh... wait, I should probably answer him right about now..._

"Are you... robbing me?"

The Henchman's mouth drops open in disbelief as if Jaune had just asked a vegan for a double pulled pork bacon cheeseburger deluxe, "_Yes!_"

"Ooohhh..."

The man in the bowler hat is waiting for his men to finish the heist when a "Hey!" and "Hyah!" are heard, and a now disarmed henchman flies past him.

"You want another one of us to handle it, Roman?" A second henchman asks.

"_Yes_, idiot."

The second henchman runs over confidently with his gun held up at the seemingly harmless kid. _I got a gun, no one EVER resists a guy with a gun! Haha!_

"Freeze, ya little-!"

_CRASH!_

And just like that, the second henchman flies out out of the window with Jaune landing on top to check for consciousness. _Out like a candle, heh._

The other men look outside as Jaune gets up and unsheathes Crocea Mors into its sword and shield form. Roman scowls, but Jaune smiles back at them before twirling the gleaming weapon around, dropping into combat stance and turning off his headphones.

"Okayyy..." Roman begins slowly before turning to his henchmen with evident irritation, "Get him!"

The henchmen head out of the shop and run at Jaune, who stabs his sword in the ground to use the hilt as a hand grip as he spins above it and kicks the first approaching criminal in the face. He then regrips his shield and flings it off with a burst of white aura to hit another henchman with the brunt of its force, sending him flying.

Then with blazing cerulean eyes, he pulls his sword out the ground effortlessly and knocks out another attacker with the side of his blade before dodging the next's gunfire with rapid twirls of his sword, finally catching his boomerang-like shield and butting the poor guy with it hard enough to knock him through the air to Roman's feet.

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were." he states lightly to the unconscious henchman before directing his attention to Jaune, dropping his cigar and crushing it with his cane as approaching police sirens are heard, "Well, Baby Blue, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around..."

The smooth criminal raises his cane and opens the bottom to reveal a rifle with a cross grid, "I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

_POW!_

Roman unleashes a red blast at Jaune, who focuses his powerful family-specific aura into his legs and leaps over it. When he lands and looks up, Roman isn't there, and is climbing up a ladder on a nearby building. Still he yells after the guy.

"My eyes are _cerulean_, you moron!" Deciding to go after the criminal, his knightly instincts prompt him to turn to look at the recovering shopkeeper first.

"Hey, there wasn't any pheremone dust in there, was there?"

"Nuh-uh," the shopkeep replies with some confusion.

"Good. Just checking. You okay if I go after him?"

"_Okay!?_" He exclaims weakly as the weight of situation finally hits him, "How can I be okay! I'm just a temp worker finding jobs around the city and these things always happen to me! And always on a Thursday too! Never on a Monday! Maybe a Saturday!? Ohhh no, don't even get me started on the noodle sh-"

"Oookay, he's fine." Jaune turns to leave the ranting old shopkeeper to follow the oddly stylish criminal up the ladder. _This punk, thinks he's sooo smooth with his disappearing act. Dis iz where we purt wayz blah blah blah. Ah, here's the roof._

"Hey! Stop right there, you pumpkin pie hair-cutted freak!"

Roman stops at the other edge of the roof, mumbling to himself without turning back, "Persistent..."

Jaune readies to fight him, but a getaway Bullhead rises up and opens the hatch to allow Roman inside who finally turns around and throws a red Dust gem at Jaune's feet.

"End of the line, Baby Blue." He states with Melodic Cudgel aimed at its crystalline target.

"They're CERULEAN, motherf-"

_BOOM!_

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!...Huh?" He begins cackling maniacally but stops when he sees a new opponent on the roof block the blast.

To Jaune, it all happens so fast. Flash of purple, jagged rocks, dark clouds, a cursing Roman, lethal hail, a really cool fireball, more explosions, a glowing arrow and a glowing ring thingy that breaks apart all the shrapnel!

Jaune, finally acting, notices several blazing circles around him and his mysterious ally, pushing her away before the circle glyphs explode. Each of them look up to see the hatch close and the craft fly away, Jaune turning to his platinum blonde companion and suddenly realizing who came to his rescue.

"_You're Sailor Moon!_" he audibly gasps in excitement, "Can I have your autograph?!"

The echo around the rooftop of her impending facepalm is long and loud.

* * *

><p>"Jaune Arc," a silver-haired man calls his name as he sits at a dingy desk in a dimly lit room. The man then walks in and unexpectedly leans in a tad too close, staring into Jaune's features.<p>

"You have... Cerulean eyes."

"Oh, jeez. You're not a creeper obsessed with eyes, are you?"

"No." The stranger states flatly as he takes a seat across from Jaune and hands him a plate that is filled with his favorite treats.

"Ooh, waffles! Om-nom-nom-nom..." That _was_ filled with his favorite treats.

"Do you know who I am?" He asks as Jaune hands back the fine china.

"Of course. You're Kingpin... or, Penguin. Something like that."

"I told you, too much time reading comics and manga..." The platinum blonde lady states as she paces the back of the room impatiently.

But then it hits him... That guy's the principal at that school Pyrrha's going to this year!

"Hold on... I know, you're the Headmaster at Beacon!" Jaune exclaims with his signature 'Eureka' expression as he slams his palm on the table in decisive victory. The man doesn't even flinch, he only flashes a small smile.

"Yes, my name is Ozpin. Hello."

"Nice to meet you."

"You want to come to my school?"

Jaune deadpans. _Whoa whoa, what! Boy, that escalated quickly. Um, maybe? I dunno, Pyrrha's gonna be there... and I know P-Money is my bestie and all but she can be a tad overprotective and stuff so mehhh..._

But then he notices the lady scrupulously pacing the room behind the Headmaster and like any normal teenage boy instantly rationalizes the pros and cons of the situation.

_But if Sailor Moon will be there..._

"Yep! More than anything!"

Ozpin trades glances with the platinum blonde lady who shows her disapproval with a "Hmpf" before turning back to Jaune.

"Well, okay."

"But we've already invited another student to enroll, and she's only fifteen!" The lady quickly retorts.

"So?" The Headmaster quips casually, "I've decided."

_YES! _Jaune now thinks to himself with glee, _Out there, there are creatures of great strength, people of incredible power, and Sailor Moon and I will STAND AT THE TOP OF THEM ALL!_

* * *

><p>'My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and you are among a privileged few that-'<p>

"Wha-? You're not Sailor Moon!? AW C'MON, MY LIFE BLOWS!"

The white knight lets his head sink in dejection as he sees the holographic image shatter his dreams on board the airship before an ecstatic voice catches his attention from behind.

"J-Whiner? ...J-Whineeer!" the voice escalates into a full-on bear hug as the Spartan beauty picks up Jaune in a spine-crushing embrace.

Jaune desperately tries to gasp for air, "P-Money, please stop."

"But I'm so proud of you!" she states gleefully as she finally releases him so he can dust himself off.

"Really, it was nothing."

"What do you mean?" she asks curiously, "We all heard what happened, it was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees."

"The what?"

"You know, the cat's pyjamas?"

"_What?_"

"The mutt's nuts?"

"...uhh."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she says as he pulls him in for another hug but softer this time, " I just can't believe my bestie is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

Of course, his obliviousness is as dense as ever since after all these years he still doesn't realize how much the popular redhead favors him over the rest, how much she enjoys his warmth when they hug or how she cherishes the sweeter moments they've shared in their lives. But alas, to him, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos may as well be siblings.

_Ugh, this is the worst day ever,_ he mentally complains, unaware of how much Pyrrha is relishing the hug they're still locked in as always, _and there's no way this day can roll any further downhill-_

His train of thought stops as he notices a flash of red behind Pyrrha's shoulder, a younger-than-expected girl in a red hood and queasy green face desperately looking for a trash can.

Clearly, despite her speed, she's not going to find one on time.

_And she's headed in my direction!_ So in his panic, Jaune goes with the first idea his dense mind postulates. Under the guise of tightening his hug around his now blushing companion, he subtly moves her between him and the Vomit Girl.

"Mmm, Jaune, you feel so-"

_BLEHHH!_

"Oh! Ew, gross!" the Spartan exclaims in disgust as the girl in red heaves her stomach contents all over the Arkos moment, "Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!"

"You got puke on your shoe, Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaims in equal disgust as he leaps back from both girls, "Get away! Get away! Get away!"

And with a few dirty towels and nose plugs, the passengers in the majestic airship finally make their way to the hunter's academy, Beacon.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A quick disclaimer, some of you may notice that this story was originally penned under SavageDandelion. Well, I am that guy. Died and come back to life. Thus, ThePhantomScribe, heh. So be sure to leave a like and follow if you liked the story previously, and sorry to all my followers that got booted when the story was accidentally deleted :/**

**Anyways, Episode 1 switched! Okay, so Ruby is Vomit Girl, obviously.**

**Jaune is a prodigy now, switched with Ruby, cuz why not? Except cute and powerful Jaune would be weird, so I made him smartass powerful Jaune with something to prove (just like Rubes!) :D**

**Pyrrha is "like" a sister to him but still likes him (Cue the shenanigans muahahaaaa) cuz a little Arkos never hurt anyone!**

**Nora would be the bratty Heiress, yep, and Ren the quiet guy! It works... O.o**

**Other than that, everyone gets switched (even Cardin and Velvet) hehehe...**

**Well I'm glad I got this chapter out of my head, it's been in there all day! Hope you enjoyed! I might continue, might not. Tell me what you think!**

**Happy Reading!**


	2. The Shining Beacon

**A/N: Okay, sooo, let me put it this way...**

***le me, the night I submitted this story to FFnet*: "Yawwwn, so tired, but I'm glad I got this idea out of my head on paper. Nice writing exercise. But it's midnight. Sleep time now." X.X**

***le me, the next day when I see the amount of faves and follows this fic has gotten*: "DAFUUUQ!" O.O**

**Long story short, I guess that warrants a chapter 2. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Episode 2: The Shining Beacon<strong>_

_"Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life."_

* * *

><p>"Wooow..." Both Jaune and Pyrrha let out in awe.<p>

They stand at the docks taking in the entirety of Beacon alongside several other students that walk out of the airship and head down the path to the front of the school. Except Vomit Girl, that is, who goes over to the nearest trash can and loses more more of her lunch into it.

"Was that the fourth time?" Jaune asks sideways at his companion.

"No, fifth."

"Crapberries. Lost again," He hands her a small wad of lien which she happily counts and stashes behind her bronze emblem next to her hip.

"And that is why they call me P-Money!"

But not paying attention to that last remark, Jaune has now gone gaga over all the weapons he's looking at around them, practically going chibi mode as he floats around Pyrrha. _We can have SO MANY role-playing parties here!_

"Ohmygosh, P-Money!" he begins, unable to mentally hold in his excitement anymore, "That kid's got a lightsaber! And that one has a Brute Shot! And _she's_ got a portal gun! Portal Guuun~"

Entranced, he tries getting closer to the girl holding it, which Pyrrha doesn't approve, so she pulls him back by his hoodie.

"Hey! Ow!"

"Easy there, J-Whiner. They're just weapons!"

"Clearly, you have never played _Portal_ or _Halo_. Or _Star Wars: The Force Unleashed_ for that matter."

The Spartan merely shrugs before mentioning the best alternative, "Well, why can't you pretend play with your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

"I'll tell you two things: _First_," Jaune states with mock offence, "It's called _Role Playing_. And second, that is my hand - give it back!"

Pyrrha, playfully pushing her lovable blonde's hood down while still holding his hand, replies light-heartedly, "Oh come on, J-Whiner, it won't hurt to walk around like this for a while, would it?"

Jaune takes off the hood and looks down at their intertwined hands with a light blush, "But... why? We're best friends, not a-"

"_Fine_," Pyrrha replies flatly, unwilling to let Jaune finish the sentence as she lets go of his hand at the very moment he tries to yank it from her.

He then falls backwards into a luggage cart, sending cases flying... and the moment he opens his eyes, he sees someone is standing over him.

"What art thou doing?!"

"He did it!" Pyrrha shouts before speeding away in a cloud of dust. Fair retaliation for the terrible thing the knight was about to say to her... _only_ best friends? _Sigh_...

_Thanks a LOT, Pyrrha, _hegrumbles mentally before standing up in irritation and watching the Spartan race into the school as he speaks up to his new antagonist behind him.

"Look random citizen, I don't wanna fight, so all I gotta say is: 'Don't _start_ nuthin, won't _be_ nuthin'." He then begins to turn to face her, "As you may notice, I have a badass sword-"

He stops mid-sentence as he completes his turn to find the blunt end of a painful-looking weapon inches from his face.

"-Aaand you have a giant hammer... let's negotiate."

"I'm all ears."

_Easier said than done with a huge meat smasher held at my face... hehe, 'meat smasher'._ Jaune tries to hold back a small chuckle at his train of thought while he speaks up again.

"Where to begin... Let's see, uh, sorry?"

"Sorry?!" the orange-haired hammer-wielder states incredulously, "Dost thou have any idea of the damage thou could have caused?"

Jaune picks up a fallen case, hopefully it could be enough to dissuade her from beating him with her large weapon if he's holding her things, "Uuhhh... why are you talking with an Asgardian accent?"

"Giveth me that!" she snatches the luggage from Jaune and opens it to reveal its fist-sized contents, "These be Holy Grenades - manufactured and shipped from the Valhalla factory!"

"Uuuhhhh... there are so many things wrong with what you just said..." he adds under his breath.

"What! Art thou on _drugs!?_" she shouts again as she takes out a grenade and shuts the case, unwittingly pulling the hanging pin off as the case lock catches the pin, "Grenades! Safety pins, timers, Big Bada-Boom!"

The knight's eyes widen in surprise and irritation as he notices the pin-less grenade, "I know that, _Lady Thor! _B-But, but-"

"But _what! _Art thou even listening to me? Dost any of this sink in? What hast thou to say for thyself?!"

Forgetting their imminent danger at the opportunity to reply to this crazy Norse Heiress, Jaune leans in closely to the peeved Valkyrie, eyes narrowed with evident concern.

"Are _you_ on drugs?"

_BOOM!_

The grenade goes off but is thankfully non-fatal due to Jaune enveloping them both with his aura at the last possible second.

Yes, like a force field.

The case is also blown away and lands at the feet of another student in a green trail coat and white trousers. Picking it up and noticing the logo of Mjolnjir with a lightning bolt through it on the side, he looks up from the book he's reading and looks over at the scene.

The hammer-maiden is now covered in soot, though it quickly disappears, "Unbelievable! This be exactly the kind of event of which I spoke!"

Jaune almost feels bad about it all. Almost. "Your fault."

"Ugh, useless mortal! What art thou even doing here? Are not thou a little... _scraggly_, to be attending Beacon?"

"Don't forget Tall and Blonde!" He adds sarcastically.

The Valkyrie is not amused.

"Well this be not thy ordinary combat school. T'is not simply sparring and practice! We art here to slay monsters, so... watch where thou goes, that is why Monty gave us eyes on the front of our heads!"

Jaune is finally fed up, "_Hey_, Monty gave us eyes on the front of our heads so we can look forward to the _future_. So hah, joke's on _you_, princess!"

But just then, a third voice enters the conversation.

"Isn't that a quote from... Never mind. And it's _heiress_, actually." Jaune and the angry Valkyrie look over at a pink-eyed boy who approaches with the case and continues, "Nora the Valkyrie, heiress to the Valhalla Grenade Company. One of the largest producers of dust ammunition in the world."

Nora now smiles smugly, "Finally! Some recognition!"

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

Her anger promptly returns with her response as Jaune tries but fails to hold back a snicker, "Wha- How dare thou- The nerve of... Ugh!"

And walking up to the nameless boy's face, she snatches the case from him and walks off in a huff as her helpers gather the luggage and follow. Jaune calls out after her sarcastically.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" and sighing in satisfaction at the amusing turn of events, he begins to bring his attention back to his unidentified wingman, "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day... So, what's..."

He finally turns to see the silent boy walking off as well and is left to sheepishly scratch the back of his head alone, "Great going, Jaune. O-for-two..."

But his attention is caught again when a small finger taps his shoulder armor from behind and he turns to see a shorter girl in a red hoodie with her hand out.

"Hey... I'm Ruby."

He shakes her hand, "Jaune... wait, aren't you the girl that threw up on the ship?"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, the new pair are making their way around the pathways inside the Beacon walls that are filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river while Ruby continues in conversation.<p>

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!"

Trying to hold back his laughter, Jaune does his best to sound apologetic, "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Girl was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh, yeah?" she retorts flatly, "What if I called you _Unabomber?_"

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

The admittedly adorkable girl - and yes, Adorkable is a thing - regains her usual goofy grin as she continues, "Well, the name's Ruby! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - guys love it!"

"Do they?" Jaune asks skeptically.

"They will!" she replies quickly, "Well, I-I hope they will. My dad always says that... Never mind."

He can't help giggling at this new girl... _She's pretty cool. Definitely adorkable! _"So..." he begins with a smile as he changes the subject, "I got this weapon!"

Pulling out the gleaming Crocea Mors as they take a pause in their stroll, its intricate ivory and gold handle glowing in the sun, the mirror-quality polished blade catches her reflection as he twirls it skillfully in the air around him, leaving Ruby agape at the incredible craftmanship.

"Whoa! Cool sword!"

"The sheath is also a mecha-shifting high-impact absolute barrier!" he states proudly.

"A-wha...?"

Jaune smiles, "It's also a shield."

"Oh. That's cool!"

"So what've _you_ got?"

"Oh! I, uh..." she pulls out a device that unfolds into a giant scythe and stabs it into the ground, "I got this thing!"

"Ooooohh!" Jaune goes goo-goo-eyed at the beauty of a weapon.

"Yeah, and it shoots bullets and stuff, too!" she reaches for a small lever on its side and cocks it to load the barrel with a _click-click._

"Nice. What else can it do?"

Not expecting the question, Ruby awkwardly fumbles with the scythe as it starts to retract, expand, and retract again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, returns it to her back, "The scythe gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..."

The knight furrows his brows slightly, "But... wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does..." she remarks with her head hanging with exaggerated dejection.

He can't help giggling at his new friend, "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so I guess I did go a little overboard when forging mine."

"Wait - you made that?!" she asks with disbelief.

"Of course, using the Arc family sacred blueprints! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down... My uncle used it to fight as a Hunter back in his prime."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" he continues with a light-hearted laugh, "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for boss-level gardening these days. You can almost call yourself... _The Grimm Reaper!_"

Ruby giggles at the pun, "Sure, whatever you say, Unabomber..."

Jaune playfully shoves her as they start to walk again side by side, now curious on another matter and changing the subject again, "So why'd you come up to me back there? In the courtyard?"

"Eh, why not? My dad always says, 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'." she replies casually with a shrug.

"Hmm." the knight's about to say something when he notices his unfamiliar surroundings, "Hey, where are we going?"

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you." she replies as she tries to turn around to find any indication of their whereabouts, "Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a cookie shop? Some kind of recognizable landmark? ...Or a cookie shop?"

"You said cookie shop twice."

"Oh! Right. Is, uh... Is that a 'no'?"

"Heh, that's a 'no'."

* * *

><p>And another few minutes - and seven messages from Pyrrha - later, Ruby and Jaune finally enter Beacon Academy's giant auditorium, filled to the brim with people. Jaune looks over when he hears Pyrrha's voice.<p>

"Jaune! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

The knight quickly turns to his crimsonette friend before leaving, "Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! See you after the ceremony!"

"Hey, wait!" she is too late to hold him back and sighs dejectedly, "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky person to talk to?!"

She moves on to reveal a snowy-haired girl behind her with a rapier who silently takes an interest in the crimsonette.

Several feet away, Pyrrha speaks up again with a fiendish grin as Jaune finally joins her with his arms crossed, "How's your first day going, J-Whiner? It feels like a week has gone by since I last saw you!"

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" he scoffs with a hurt expression.

"Oh dear," her concern for him makes her feel bad for leaving him to that scary girl's devices, "Meltdown already?"

"No, I literally _exploded_ a hole in front of the school!" he continues gruffly before adding, "And for the record, it hasn't been a whole week! It's not like our lives are played out in weekly episodes!"

But at this point, Pyrrha can't help but smile broadly at her upset companion's reactions, they're too adorable, "Are you being sarcastic?"

"Pfft, I wish!" He replies without realizing that a certain Norse Heiress is standing right behind him, "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then there was a grenade, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I actually almost felt bad, but really I just wanted her to stop yelling at me with that foreign accent!"

"T'is _thou!_"

"Oh, Monty, _it's happening again!_" Jaune shrieks as he jumps into the Spartan's arms in surprise.

"Thou art lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

Pyrrha deadpans with him in her arms, "Oh my Oum, you really exploded..."

"It was an accident," the knight states irritably before getting down and turning to the hammer maiden, "It was an accident!"

His only reply is a pamphlet titled _DUST AMMUNITION for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals_ suddenly shoved in his face.

"What on Remnant is _this?_ This looks like a how-to manual from a Best Buy."

"The Valhalla Grenade Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Valhalla Grenade Company product. Although not mandatory, the Valkyrie Family highly encourages customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field."

_Jeez,_ he mentally realizes as the Valkyrie goes on, _I'd seriously rather take a Nevermore beak to the liver than hear this girl rant... Oh, she's finally done._

"Yeah... You lost me at 'The'." he begins flatly, to which she rolls her eyes.

"Wouldst thou truly wish to start making things up to me?"

"Absolutely?" _Anything to stop the ranting._

Nora quickly hands him the pamphlet again, "Read this, make me some pancakes, and never speaketh to me again."

"Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. But never speaking again to each other sounds fine!" Pyrrha cuts in eagerly with an enthusiastic nod.

"Pyrrha..." Jaune chides as he puts away the pamphlet with one hand while holding out the other to the peeved heiress, "Let's just start over. Hello, Nora! I'm Jaune! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!

"Yea-_No_." Both girls state in unison with equally strong glares at the knight, but now their attention is drawn to the stage where the Headmaster and his platinum blonde colleague suddenly appear.

_That woman ruined my life..._ Jaune states mentally.

The silver-haired man taps at the microphone.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills," and suddenly, a glint passes over his eyes as his speech really picks up momentum with a grin and dramatic fist pump, "But I say: Throw away your logic and kick reason to the curb! Piercing destiny as yesterday's enemies, creating a new path with these hands! But I look amongst you, and all i see are _drills_ in need of purpose, direction..."

"What the..." the three students ask themselves upon seeing the deranged man quoting so much anime and pointing enthusiastically at the audience.

"Yet your drill is a drill that will pierce the heavens! So listen up kids and don't forget: Don't believe in the you that believes in me and don't believe in the me that believes in you. Believe in the you that believes in yourself! THE UNION OF FATE! _GURREN LA-!_"

_WHACK!_

The Headmaster gets smacked on the arm hard by the _very_ irritated Huntress beside him, prompting him to finish with his original distant air.

"*_sigh_* It is up to you to take the first step."

The weird Headmaster then walks off the stage, followed by Glynda Goodwitch who pinches the bridge of her nose before going after the strange man.

Back in the audience, Jaune wipes a tear from his eye before speaking, "I _knew_ I felt a strong connection with Kingpin the first time we met... now Bacon has totally redeemed itself!"

"_Beacon!_"

The two girls are about to smack the blonde as well before Ruby suddenly appears next to Nora with a goofy smile, "I'm a natural brunette, you know! ...well, minus the red-tipped highlights."

Nora facepalms in exasperation.

* * *

><p>The first night at Beacon, students are splayed out in sleeping bags in Beacon's ballroom. Jaune is in his pajamas and with a sleeping mask around his head and is writing when Pyrrha crashes next to him, dressed in only her light bronze v-cut under-layer that she usually wears under her armor and dark red short-shorts.<p>

"It is not very unlike a large slumber party!"

Jaune doesn't even look up as he writes on a piece of paper over his sleeping bag below, "I don't think my sisters would approve of all the girls, though."

"I know _I_ don't!" Pyrrha mumbles under her breath as she notices several admittedly gorgeous girls in the room, all potential competition for Jaune's attentions. _Her_ Jaune's attentions. But the Spartan soon becomes more absorbed with what her companion is writing next to her.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just a fic about what my life would be like if I were mute..." He mentions nonchalantly.

Taking advantage of his only half-paying attention to her, she scoots right next to him to look over what he writes, nuzzling her side into his which he accepts with a small smile before returning to his work. They stay side by side on his sleeping bag for a few minutes over his growing fic, her chin softly perched on his shoulder rereading his story until she laughs at how he writes his parents accepting Sailor Moon as an auntie to him after saving him from dying from the injury that turns him into a mute.

"Aw, that is so adorable!"

This of course earns her a playful grin and a nudge to her side with his elbow which causes her to giggle adorably.

_Ahh, these are the moments I really enjoy_, Pyrrha mentally muses while the two start throwing pillows at each other: big ones, little ones, pink heart puppy Beowulf head shaped ones... _if only he enjoyed them the same way I do, maybe he'd understand how much I lov-_

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" his light-hearted talk finally pierces through her cloud of thought, the knight now pausing meaningfully as he notices her vivid green eyes locked onto his, "...and you're staring at me again."

"O-Oh, sorry," the Spartan finally snaps out of her wistful train of thought with a light blush, quickly processing whatever was just said, "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

But friends that are girls? No, not girls. Never girls.

The amiable pair suddenly notice a candle being lit nearby, and the nameless boy with pink eyes is seen leaning against a wall, reading his book.

"That guy..." Jaune begins in a low tone.

"You know him?"

"Not really. He saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

Well, then," Pyrrha declares, seeing a way to further lift her best friend's spirits as she grabs his arm to pick him up, "now is your chance!"

"W-Wait! What are you doing?!" Jaune cries out as he's dragged towards the silent reader.

The boy leaned up against the wall looks over his book to see Jaune unsuccessfully struggling against the Spartan's grip as she leads her friend over to his spot before letting him go and speaking up with a melodic greeting.

"Hel-lo! I believe you two may know each other?"

"Aren't you... that guy that exploded?" He finally begins with a glance at Jaune.

"Uh, yeah! My name's Jaune! But you can just call me Unabom-" he cuts himself off before smiling awkwardly and continuing, "Heh... actually, you can just call me Jaune."

The stoic student merely returns his gaze to his book, "Okay."

Pyrrha leans over to Jaune, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know - help me!"

"So... What's your name?" she begins to the book-engrossed stranger with a disarming smile, nicely enough to get his attention again even if he's not thrilled with the prospect of further conversation.

"Ren."

"Well, Ren, I'm Pyrrha, Jaune's friend! I... Like your eyes!"

Ren lifts a brow before trying to focus on his book again irritably, "Thanks!"

"They go well with your... highlights!"

"Right..."

Being infatuated with Jaune, Pyrrha doesn't realize that it kinda sounds like she's hitting on the guy in front of her best friend.

But still, she turns back to Jaune with a shrug, "Maybe he's a kuudere?"

"What's that?"

"A bit like a tsundere except calm and collected on the outside... They may come across as distant, but that's just until the right person comes along to melt through their emotional defenses!"

"I can still hear you," Ren states flatly as he turns the page to his book without even looking up at the pair in front of him.

"What's it about?" Jaune suddenly asks Ren, catching him by surprise.

"Huh?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well..." it seems Ren doesn't know where to begin, "i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

"One of them Grimm and the other human, right?"

"Yes, actually..." Ren replies, pleasantly surprised this time.

"Yeah! He's pretty awesome, he fights for the users!" Jaune now exclaims a bit too loudly in his excitement with a fist pump in the air.

Ren deadpans, "No... That's Tron."

"Oh, right," the blonde settles down and taps his chin repeatedly until the right story comes to mind, "Ah, I know! It's the one about the knight who dies in war after falling off a cliff, but is given a second chance at a re-do by getting sent back in time to relive the past eight years and hopefully save the kingdom and everyone he cares about!"

The stoic finally cracks a small smile, "That's the one."

"I love books." Jaune continues sheepishly with a smile of his own, "Stories of heroes and monsters... As a boy, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

"Yes... To 'Fight for the users', as you put it..." Ren continues with a smirk.

"Right, that's why we're here! To make it better... At least, I can definitely say I believe that now..." Jaune adds, reaching a mental epiphany.

_All this time I thought my family was pushing me to become a Hunter just to continue in the family tradition... But it's not that, isn't it. It was always to help others who can't help themselves, and we as the people with the power to do so must use it in the best way we can! I guess it's time I really get into this Hunter business then; like my uncle Ben Arc always used to say... With great power comes great responsibility!_

Jaune gets snapped out of his train of thought when Pyrrha taps him on the head with restrained mirth.

"Um... J-Whiner, you've been acting out another one of your internal monologues again for the past two minutes."

Even Ren is silently chuckling before finally speaking up, "Well, Jaune, Pyrrha, it's a pleasure to ha-"

"What in the world is going on over here?!" the three turn to see Nora storming into the scene with Asgardian fury, "I heardeth Tron quotes and they must cease _immediately_, dost thou not realize some of us are trying to sleep!"

"What on Remnant are you wearing?" Pyrrha asks as she notices the Norse Heiress wrapped in what seems like a very oversized article of clothing with her large company logo branded on the outside.

"If thou _must_ know, t'is a Snuggie. Manufactured by VGC."

"Video Game Championship?" The Spartan questions with curiosity.

"_No_, Valhalla Grenade Company!" Nora quips in response, "We manufacture most of the dust ammunition found in every Hunter's arsenal!"

"Oh. Good to know we're on the same team, then," Pyrrha states with a warm smile before Jaune cuts in as he notices the increased amount of annoyed faces glancing in their direction.

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!"

Nora scoffs, "Oh, _now_ thou art on my side!"

"_Same team_, remember?"

"Stop quoting Tron!"

"Oh _really? _Okay then," the offended knight who was just trying to help begins with a different source to quote after straightening his pose and adopting a Shakespearian accent, "_Tell me, dost mother know thou wearest her drapes?_"

"WHY YOUUU-!"

Ren merely rolls his eyes at the fight, closes his book, and reaches over to grab his candle before blowing it out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_**Sigh**_**, well now I'm sure I've run this fic into the ground... But it's been fun to write, and I combined parts 1 and 2 of The Shining Beacon into one chapter, which is a bright side! So I guess I'll take RoosterTeeth's stance when it comes to these types of impasses, and I paraphrase, "To continue posting new content until people stop reviewing, faving and following... and then post one more chapter anyway." n_n**

**So next chapter, we'd be introduced to our "Ren and Nora" who I'm sure you guys can guess will be already ;) And once again, the next two parts of The First Step would be combined into one chapter, yay! But in any case, feel free to drop a review, it helps to know what you think so I can improve my writing :)**

**EDIT: And in case anyone is curious, Ren is indeed reading Divergence by YARN. Full disclosure, that guy inspired me to write fanfic in the first place, so I can't help referencing his fic hah... Even though he may never read my tribute ('-_-) *sad face* Maybe one day!**

**Anyways, this is Savage, signing off. Happy Reading!**


	3. The First Step

_**Episode 3: The First Step**_

_"Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful,  
>but he was born into an unforgiving world."<em>

* * *

><p><em>Uuugh, why does my head hurt so badly? ...I just had the worst dream. I, I think I was on a train... there were bombs, a man with a chainsaw I think, and Grimm everywhere... I should try opening my eyes now.<em>

Eyes open and close wearily, catching a blurry glimpse of tall windows, an ornate room, and a pair of lilac orbs.

_Nope. Not ready to wake up yet... Oh, I know what it is! The TRAIN, how could I have not remembered!? Yes, yes indeed... That is the last time I watch Inception on my scroll before bedtime-_

"Wake up, SnuggleButt!~"

_OOF!_

Suddenly launched off a sleeping bag by a powerful shove, a crash against the wall is felt and angry eyes shoot open at the impossibly ecstatic blonde standing a mere few feet away with her hands on her hips.

"Ow."

Flashing an ear-to-ear grin, the blonde seems to brush off the seemingly peeved reaction with song as she leaps around the room full of teens in sleeping bags, "It's mor-ning!~ It's mor-ning!~ It's mor-ning!~ IIIt's MORNING! _Hah!_ I'm Pitch Perfect, losers!"

The eyes deadpan and turn to the mirror beside them to survey the damage. Amber orbs meet their reflection. No bags under them... not bad, it was a good night's sleep after all.

_The world is as normal as ever and everything's still the same, just as Monty intended._

Hands appear to flatten the lustrous but disheveled raven-colored hair and straighten the ever-present black bow above before dropping down to their owner's visage. Fingers trace their way around the satiny alabaster skin on a cheek, up and around a petite nose - before wiping away some eye-gunk between nose and eye - and back down to alluring, even lips that are proud to say have never been kissed.

She knows she shouldn't stare at herself. But man, Monty outdid himself making this masterpiece! Not that she's admiring _herself, _though... just staring at the reflection of the crazy fist-pumping blonde somewhere behind her as she punches some random red-haired guy awake to her own rendition of _Eye Of The Tiger_.

Always the brawler.

*_Sigh_* _I hate mornings._

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, eyes stare at their own reflection again in a bathroom mirror as hands brush teeth, the blonde brawler still hounding her raven-haired companion from behind.<p>

"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, we're BUMBLEBEE, gosh darnit! ...But it's just crazy, y'know?~"

The scene changes to a ballroom, where the two are readying themselves. The brawler is meticulously brushing her hair as customary and still chattering while the amber-eyed girl stoically tightens the strings on her sleeping bag.

"We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not 'together-together'... Not that I'm not saying that you're not drop dead gorgeous; you _are_ gorgeous, like, the kind of gorgeous that walks into a bar and all the guys _and_ the girls are all like, 'Yeah, I'd do her'...okay, I'll stop talking now."

The scene changes again as the two are in the middle of eating their breakfast, the blonde still talking between mouthfuls of berries she throws in the air and catches in her mouth.

"Right! What was I thinking? _Stop talking!?_ *_glomp_* Hah, like _that'_s ever gonna happen! But still, I hope we end up on the same team together! *_glomp_* Oohhhh!" she continues with relish as an idea hits her, "We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we find a Jedi and have him use mind tricks on the Headmaster? No, that won't work. Too early in the year to risk a crossover."

The scene changes yet again as the two are readying themselves in the locker room, the serene nightshade loading her precious Gambol Shroud while the brawler... is still talking.

"I know! We'll have some sort of _signal!_ Like a distress signal!" she suddenly gasps in realization, "A _secret_ signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a puma?"

Finally deciding to make it a two-way conversation, the stoic girl pauses her weapon-prepping and speaks up.

"Yang?"

"Yes, Blakey?"

The raven-haired girl sheathes her blade along her back and turns to her companion before reaching up to her bow and pulling it up, revealing a normal head of hair.

"I'm not a cat."

The pensive blonde pauses for a moment before exclaiming in excitement, "That's... why it's _perfect! _No one will suspect we're working together!"

Blake merely smiles as she shuts her locker, "Come on Yang, let's go."

"Not 'together-together'..." Yang corrects herself, giggling as she follows her companion outside and passing a certain Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos next to more lockers as she skips along.

Jaune watches both girls pass by curiously, "Wonder what those two are so worked up about?"

"Oh, who knows?" Pyrrha replies, grinning as she doesn't really notice them but instead is admiring how Jaune looks in the morning light. Which, he notices. Aaand, she's been caught staring again.

"Um, ahem..."

"So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!" she adds to keep the conversation going, to which Jaune - who still doesn't think anything of the meaning of Pyrrha's actions - grins back.

"Yep! Have you noticed the people here? They're _insane!_ Keeping a low profile while I'm at this place will be easy as long as I stay away from everyone, then I'll make my move for greatness when the time is right... Just me and ol' Crocea Mors against the world..." he sighs happily as he strokes his trusty weapon.

"Well remember, Jaune, you're not the only one going through initiation," Pyrrha begins, putting her hands on her hips chidingly, "If you want to reach greatness, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

At this, Jaune's aura flares in offense, "Choplogic! FOR I AM JAUNE ARC, SON OF THE UNDEFEATED ARC AND SUCCESSOR TO HIS NAME. BY MONTY'S DECREE, I AM THE ONE WHO WILL STAND ON TOP AS STRONGEST ABOVE EARTH AND UNDER THE HEAVENS!"

The spartan blinks at the powerfully luminescent display around the confident knight as he proudly grins and strikes a triumphant pose.

"But what about when we form teams?" Pyrrha replies with a smirk and raised brow.

"Oh," Jaune deadpans as his dazzling display of aura instantly dies down, "Um, I dunno, I... I'll use Jedi Mind Tricks or something..."

Clearly, he doesn't understand what his best friend is getting at, who now brings her hair around her shoulder and begins stroking it nervously as she decides to be more direct, "Maybe... you could try being on... my team?"

"My dear friend Pyrrha, are you implying that I am _incapable_ of reaching the heavens with my fame by my lonesome?"

_Can't he take a hint!?_

"What? No! Of course not!" The panicking redhead defends, trying to salvage the situation, "I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!" ...terrible save.

"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!" Ruby finishes unknowingly, looking down at a map as she suddenly walks in between the besties, "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"

Leaving the confused Arkos duo behind, she now passes Nora the Valkyrie and a snowy-haired young lady as they ready themselves at their lockers.

"So, Weiss," Nora begins with an uncharacteristically kind voice, "hast thou given any thought to whose team thou would prefer to join? I am certain that everyone must be eager to unite with an individual as strong as Mjölnir and as well-known as Thor such as thyself!"

The rapier-wielder politely considers the statement, "Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

"Well..." Nora continues meaningfully, "I had pondered the possibility of combining thine forces with thee in a team together."

The seemingly icy young lady at first sight now gives an incredibly heart-warming smile, "Well, that sounds grand!"

"Fantastic!"

The background disappears into a thundercloud as Nora adopts a scheming pose and manic smile in her head.

'This will be of utmost perfection! The girl of most intelligence in class combined with the girl of most power in class - ME! Together our might will match that of the Tesseract! I can see it now! We'll defeat the Frost Giants! We'll defeat the Chitauri! And then we'll eat _shawarma!_ Nothing can come between us now!'

_OOF!_

Interrupting Nora's kinda-evil train of thought, Ruby suddenly pops up between her and Weiss and turns to the hammer-wielder with a cheesy grin, "You know what else is fantastic? Me. Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you."

The now-irritated Valkyrie barks back, "T'is _thou_ again?"

"Nice to meet you, Ruby!" Weiss now pitches in, trying to be seen by the crimsonette despite Nora's initially negative reaction. Ruby waves her off as she continues speaking to Nora.

"Yeah, yeah. So, Nora, couldn't help but overhear you noticing me the other day."

The Valkyrie deadpans, "Oh, thou hath _got_ to be kidding me!"

"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed!" Ruby continues with her original bravado, "So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! Whaddaya say?"

At this point, Weiss politely tries to step in again with her disarming smile, "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"

"You don't say," the crimsonette interrupts excitedly as she now turns her attention to the second potential teammate, "Well, Snow Angel, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the _winning_ team."

Nora quickly separates the two, "Ruby, yes? Dost thou have any idea to whom thou speaks?"

"Not in the slightest, Lady Thor."

"This is Weiss."

"Hello again!" the snowy-haired girl adds, waving happily at the crimsonette.

"Weiss graduated top of her class at Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters!"

Ruby doesn't even flinch, "Never heard of it."

Nora scoffs in disbelief, "She hath won the Hunger Games four years in a row! A new record!"

"The what?"

"_She plays Elsa in Frozen!_" the Valkyrie cries out, waving her arms rapidly in her anger. That finally elicits the desired response.

"*_gaaaaasp_* That's you?!" Ruby cries out as the familiar Disney movie's Ice Queen character comes to mind, a perfect match with the girl she's looking at, "It's such a good movie- _wait_. Is Olaf coming to Beacon, _too?!_"

The snow-themed celebrity shakes her head modestly, "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, Olaf is only a computer-generated character, so I'm afraid not."

"Hmm... For some weird reason, I'm getting a subtle sense of irony out of that..." Ruby muses aloud as she pouts pensively at the characters around her.

"It matters _not_, mortal!" Nora cuts in as she interrupts the near-breaking of the fourth wall *_phew_*, "So, after hearing all of this, dost thou verily believe that thou art in a position to ask her to be on thy team?"

Ruby sighs, letting her head hang dejectedly, "I guess not... Sorry..."

But Weiss on the other hand, who seems hurt to see the adorable girl like that, decides to cheer her up, "Actually Ruby, I think you'd make a great leader!"

To her surprise - and further endearment - it works faster than expected. Ruby immediately recovers with a goofy smile and bashful response.

"D'oh, stop it!"

Nora deadpans, "Seriously, _please_ cease and desist. This form of behavior doth not be encouraged!"

But it's too late. With Ruby's bolstered confidence, the crimsonette leans in towards the angry hammer maiden, "Sounds like Weiss is on board for Team Ruby. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. Whaddaya say?"

"Alright, thou hast come too close! Weiss, a little help, if you will?!"

Ruby looks back just in time to see a sheet of ice strike her, sending the would-be leader flying onto the side of a nearby locker where she is frozen in place.

Weiss calls out to the pinned girl, "I'm sorry!"

Just then, an announcement suddenly plays on the intercom system, Miss Goodwitch's voice now ringing out around the locker room.

'_Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately._'

"DARN YOU, SAILOR MOON! DARN YOU AND ALL THE OTHER SAILOR PLANETS, TOO!"

"..."

"Wherefore was that outburst so heated?" Nora asks casually as she walks past Ruby, who's still frozen onto the wall of a locker.

Weiss follows the hammer-maiden, tapping the block of ice sharply with her rapier which crumbles the construction and lets Ruby drop to the ground before politely taking leave.

"It was nice meeting you!"

Ruby merely slumps against the locker, "Likewise..."

Pyrrha considerately holds back a chuckle as she and a flustered Jaune approach the sullen young girl, "Having some trouble there, lady-killer?"

"What's a lady-killer?" the crimsonette asks, looking up at the spartan with confusion, "I wasn't trying to kill anyone..."

The knight shakes his head with a smile and holds a hand out to his new friend, "Come on, Ruby, let's go."

Jaune leads Ruby out of the locker room by supporting her and her damaged self-esteem with an arm around her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Some time later, the entire group of first-year students are poised near the edge of the impressively high Beacon Cliff that overlooks the vast and beautiful Emerald Forest, each student standing on silver tiles with intricate engravings in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and tablet-holding Glynda.<p>

"Hmm, he seems almost normal today..." Pyrrha notes to her best friend before the silver-haired man speaks up.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'," Glynda continues after the Headmaster seamlessly, "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"What!? Ughhh..." Jaune retorts in frustration. _I swear, every time that woman speaks, my life gets worse. Every. Single. TIME._

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continues with a hint of a smirk, "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well... or at least, with whom you find attractive."

Yang nudges Blake with wiggling brows and a smirk repeating the words "Eh? Eh?" to which the raven-haired girl merely rolls her eyes.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin is actually maintaining a professional air through it all, much to Glynda's pleasure. That is, until he pulls out a small wrinkled sheet of paper from within his overcoat... "Now, to add some flair to your initiation, I have written for you all some backstory..."

The platinum-blonde disciplinarian facepalms hard while Jaune, wide-eyed, stutters out, "F-F-F-Four_ years!?_"

"_Ahem_... It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by-" he points his cane at himself and then at his miffed colleague without looking up from the paper, "have established a new secret base on the remote forest world of Alderan..."

"Pfft, it's 'ice world of _Hoth_', genius," Blake mumbles at the lack of accuracy.

"...The evil lord Darth _Raven_ - not sure why I chose that name, but anyways - obsessed with finding a young Birdrider, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space..."

He now looks up at the group of _extremely_ confused students, crumples the paper, and throws it over his shoulder off the side of the cliff.

"Anyways. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you _will_ die. Any questions?"

A red-haired kid, still nursing the bruises on his ribcage from his rude awakening earlier, picks up his spiky mace in frustration.

"_Yeah!_" He begins sarcastically, "What the hell are we supposed to d-"

_**TWANG!**_ "-WAAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhh...!"

The Professor keeps his gaze on the startled students and doesn't even glance at the red-haired kid, whose silver tile has suddenly catapulted him through the air into the forest while Ozpin calmly takes a sip of coffee.

"Next question."

Another student with a light-green mohawk throws his arms up in frustration, then pointing one of his daggers at Ozpin.

"Who do you think you-"

_**TWANG!**_ "-AAAAAAaaaagghhhhh...!"

The smug Professor takes another sip of coffee as yet another kid with bronze armor shouts in anger, "Are you _craz-_"

_**TWANG! **_"-EEEEEEeeeeiiiii...!"

A final student with long dark blue hair and a halberd turns to the Headmaster with fear.

"Bu-"

_**TWANG!**_ "-NNOOOOOoooo...!"

Ozpin glances back over his shoulder at the, surprisingly enough, _amused_ disciplinarian and finally states, "They're not too bright, are they? My instinct tells me they'll end up in the same team together."

He turns back to the students with a fiendish smirk, "Now _that'll _teach you all to raise your hands before getting _permission_ to speak. So, once again, are there any more questions?"

The rest of the students shake their heads vehemently.

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Every student now at the ready, Pyrrha grins at Jaune and takes out a pair of tortoise-style wayfarer shades, putting them on just before-

_**TWANG!**_

The rest of the students go soaring through the air... except one certain crimsonette, who adorably stands on her silver tile with her hand raised. Ozpin nods at her direction.

"Yes?"

"Yeah, um, sir? So, what's a good landing strateg-"

_**TWANG! **_"-YYYYYYyyyyyyy...!"

Finally turning to watch the flying Rose alongside his smirking colleague, Ozpin chuckles softly while taking another sip of coffee.

"Hehe. Noobs."

* * *

><p>Emerald Forest. The Final Frontier.<p>

Dense, lush everglades full of hidden beauties and dangers, where wildlife thrives and flora and fauna coexist peacefully. Ahh, and here we find a beautiful black bird flying slowly and magnificently through the air, right up to-

"Birdie, no!"

_Sqawk! POOF!_

Jaune crashes through it in a burst of feathers as he careens through the air, spitting out a few more feathers and getting them out of his eyes just before-

"Birdie, AAAAHH!"

_SQAAAAWK!_

He lands on the back of a giant Nevermore and latches on for dear life as it begins performing formidably daunting aerial maneuvers at breakneck speed to lose its undesired cargo.

From Beacon Cliff, a slack-jawed Ozpin watches the event unfolding and drops his cane and mug as he ambles over to the edge in disbelief.

"The prophecy is real! Could he be the fabled Birdrider who travels back in time to win us the war to _end all wars!?_"

_SMACK!_

"Ow..."

"Ozpin, you and your time-travel fics... _ugh!_" Glynda begins with a frightening amount of irritation, "And if I ever find that _Yarn_ fellow..."

The sound of cracking leather from her riding crop sends chills down the Headmaster's spine.

Meanwhile...

Pyrrha, her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through the leaves on a tree and rolls on a branch awkwardly before leaping off two trunks to tumble to the ground with a chuckle.

"Nailed it."

She brushes off her armor before looking up to hear-

"AND IN THE WORDS OF FAT AMY...!"

A blonde streak wearing aviators is literally crashing _through_ trees before impacting a final one near the spartan with a loud shockwave, the massive evergreen cracking at its robust trunk.

_CACACAcrrreeeeeaaak-CRASH!_

The entire tree falls down with a crash, a gleeful blonde on top of the downed trunk right next to Pyrrha as Yang fist-pumps victoriously.

"...CRUSHED IT! BOO-YAAaaaah?"

Her celebration dies down as she suddenly notices the redhead just underneath her staring up at her, each with mouth now hanging slightly open in disbelief.

Pyrrha can't really think of words right now.

"Uhh..."

"Umm..."

"I-I'm kinda _with_ somebody...?" she finally begins in this incredibly awkward moment, pointing back over her shoulder at a random direction in the forest.

"Yeah, m-me too..." The blonde nods slowly, pointing behind herself as well. But then Pyrrha is hit with an idea.

"Well... you're wearing shades..."

Yang's face lights up in realization with a grin, "And _you're_ wearing shades...!"

"..."

"..."

"_WENEVERMADEEYECONTACTOKAYBYE!_" both powerhouses exclaim in unison before zipping away with little puffs of dust in separate directions.

* * *

><p>On the cliff, Ozpin turns and shrugs at the disciplinarian who rolls her eyes, each with little choice but to accept the loophole in the rules before returning their attention to the icy champion in the air.<p>

* * *

><p>Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summons a glyph under her as she soars over the treetops and leaps off of it to the forest below before landing elegantly on a high treebranch, immediately scoping the area around her to find Ruby still airborne, screaming and falling helplessly.<p>

_Mmmhm, target aquired, _the snowy-haired girl mentally muses as she carefully evaluates Ruby's trajectory and takes aim, _that little piece of strawberry chocolate is __mine__!_

She fires a single beam of ice dust deep into the forest, the shining light disappearing into the canopy until the sound of a distant impact and spreading ice is heard.

"Thaaaaank yooooou!"

Weiss grins and waves at the sound, "I'm sorry!"

Meanwhile, in the air...

Jaune has had enough.

The rest of the students, who have landed and are now on the forest floor - with the exception of Ruby, who is still frozen to a tree - now look up to witness the birth of greatness.

Despite the force of rushing wind, the Arc stands up with an impressive display of aura that shields him like a force field and walks right up to the neck of the flying beast, staring into its beady red eyes.

"You, monster, have offended me," the blue-eyed aura monger states with a Samuel Jackson-like crazy-glare, "There is only one ruler of the heavens. AND THAT'S ME! My sword will conquer the land! My will is the will of the people! I WILL BE THE STRONGEST UNDER HEAVEN AND ABOVE EARTH! NO! THE STRONGEST ABOVE HEAVEN TOO! I AM THE BEAST, I AM JAUNE ARC, THE DARK KNIGHT - i mean - THE WHITE KNIIIIIGHT!"

And with a mighty swing of his aura-infused sword he cleaves the giant bird's head off in one go, the disintegrating carcass now hurdling towards the ground as the cackling knight at the Nevermore's neck sheathes his weapon and prepares his landing.

Just before the Nevermore corpse lands in the forest with a mighty crash, Jaune leaps off of it and flips through the air, coalescing his white aura into his legs before landing in a crouch in the middle of the forest, the force of impact creating a large crater of exaggerated size. Looking around for a moment, he then darts off with a single mantra in mind.

"That was _awesome!_ That was awesome, that was awesome, that was... oh hey, where's P-Money? P-Moneeeyyy!" he shouts into the forest, the grevity of possibly spending four years with a likely psychotic stranger weighing down on his mind. Like, the random psychotic type for things like ice cream. Especially Neapolitan ice cream.

And besides, he has little doubt that Pyrrha is leagues better than anyone else he could think of, but just to be sure, he mentally goes over his options.

_Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... Well, not really. Maybe if P-Money gets paired with someone else she'll finally get a boyfriend. Seriously, how does someone so smart and beautiful NOT have a boyfriend yet?! And well, if I'm gonna be partnered with someone... I guess there's always Ruby. She's nice. She's moe! ...but I wouldn't trust her with a butter knife, much less that giant scythe. Ooh! What about Ren?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus he likes books! Then again, I'm getting a feeling that he's full of surprises that will be found out unexpectedly, too much drama..._

"Ugh!" he exclaims in frustration, shaking off his daydreams, "Okay... Who else do I know in this school? There's Pyrrha, Ruby, Ren, aaaand... whoa!"

Time seems to slow down as Jaune skids to a halt in front of Nora as she is turning to face him, the impending eye contact inevitable... until suddenly-

_PUNCH!_

"NOPE."

Jaune blinks and stares in shock at the now-unconscious Nora laid out on the ground with a growing bump on the side of her head, then tuns to face a grinning Pyrrha who's absolutely glowing with mirth as she takes off her shades and locks gazes with her new partner.

"Don't worry, J-Whiner, she won't remember a thing! Besides, I thought I heard someone land around this area earlier, she'll be fine."

Jaune glances at the knocked-out hammer-maiden. Then back at his amazingly beautiful best friend. He shrugs.

"Meh. Okay."

She takes his hand and they disappear into the forest just as another student appears in the small clearing and nearly trips on Nora.

"What the..."

* * *

><p>"H-H-Hey! W-What about me!? D-Did everyone forget ab-b-bout me?" a very cold Ruby shouts somewhere in the forest before groaning in dejection.<p>

No, they haven't.

"I-It s-sure seems they have!"

...Wait a minute. Can she-?

"Ruby?"

The crimsonette looks down into a pair of expressive icy blue eyes that stare up at her from the forest floor, their shy owner deciding to speak up again.

"Are you alright? I thought I heard you talking to someone..."

Crapberries. This fourth wall thing is gonna become a problem.

Ruby looks around suspiciously before meekly shaking her head, to which the snowy-haired champion asks sweetly, "Do you... have any spots left on your team?"

She merely crosses her arms before turning away in a huff, "V-Very f-f-funny..."

However, the silver-eyed girl eventually looks down at her and gives a small smile, which Weiss then returns with a light giggle.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, so I might have made a few ***_**light**_*** adjustments... I said their personalities and stories would be switched, never said it would be so clean cut. So, if you think they're all just gonna get together, get the relics, beat two Grimm and make their way back no problem... Then... Heh. Hehe, heheheHEHEHE... Ahem. Pitch Perfect references, anyone? :3**

**But being as it is, and there being no need to have Weiss!Nora and Ruby!Jaune chewing each other's heads off - for now -, I will make ***_**light**_*** adjustments to the next episode, Emerald Forest as well (parts 1 and 2 will also be combined).**

**I hope you liked it, please tell me what you think if you get a chance or leave a fave and follow to show your support ;D you guys are awesome! Till next time... where we'll see the birth of teams RWBY!JNPR and JNPR!RWBY in the heat of intense battle and manly speeches, and where we'll see Jaune continue to punch logic IN THE FACE!**

**Happy Reading!**


	4. Players and Pieces in The Emerald Forest

**_Episode 4: Players and Pieces in The Emerald Forest_**

_"Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts."_

* * *

><p>"What the..."<p>

Somewhere in the misty underbrush of the Emerald Forest, Ren is walking and looking around when he nearly trips on what feels like a small boulder. Needless to say, he is somewhat surprised to see that said obstacle is a student.

Moreso when he realizes said student is none other than Nora the Valkyrie, out cold.

"Um. Hello?" he begins awkwardly in an attempt to wake her, opting instead to call out into the forest, "Is anyone out there? Helloooo? You left something here!"

Taking a deep breath and running his hand along his cheek in exasperation as he weighs his options in leaving her there, his musing is interrupted by a rustling in the bushes behind him.

"Is someone there?" He turns to the sound as the rustling continues, "Jaune, that you?"

A low, inhuman growl is heard, and Ren looks up to see a large bear-like creature of Grimm emerge from the canopy.

"I guess not."

_RAWR!_

Ren quickly rolls to the side as the beast charges out of the green. Quickly recovering his footing, he stares at the monster before another one runs out behind him. Sensing its approach, Ren leaps over it in a graceful backflip which leaves the Grimm skidding to a halt next to its dark ally and staring down the lone student.

"Last chance to escape with your lives," Ren states as he takes his place next to the still-unconscious Nora. Both creatures roar in unison as they drop to all fours and scratch at the floor in preparation to pounce.

_ROOOAAARRR! _

"Very well, have it your way."

The beasts don't even begin forward motion before the stoic student whips out twin automatic pistols from his sleeves in the blink of an eye and simultaneously fires a single round from each one straight into the foreheads of each Grimm.

They die instantly, falling to the forest floor with a synchronized _thud_.

"Heh," Ren chuckles silently as he picks up Nora's limp form bridal-style and glances at the disintegrating Ursae before continuing his quest for the temple, "they didn't call me Agent Zero back home for nuthin."

"Thou beareth a well enough resemblance to him..." The voice surprises Ren into looking into the eyes of his cargo, a half-lidded Valkyrie who suddenly comes to full consciousness when she notices her position, "Now unhand me, mortal!"

So he drops her.

"Oof!"

"Sorry."

"Ugh," she begins as she stands up and looks from the disintegrating Grimm to the long-haired version of Daniel Henney standing in front of her, "dost thou have experience in the preparation of pancakes?"

"Uh... I'd like to say so."

"Then thou will do," Nora decides, if somewhat reluctantly, "Come, and let us search for our fates, destined by the gods of Valhalla!"

* * *

><p>The twin blasts from StormFlower continue to echo throughout the Forest, where Weiss Schnee, armed with Myrtenaster, and Ruby Rose are making their way through the bushes. Ruby hears the far-away noise and turns her head.<p>

"Did you hear that?"

"Gunfire," Weiss replies coolly, "It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy."

They keep moving forward, Ruby still staring in the sound's direction as Weiss raises a branch to pass by and accidentally releases it right at Ruby's face, flooring her instantly.

"Gah!"

Weiss quickly turns to loom behind her with worry, "Ruby! I'm sorry!"

Ruby merely laughs, lowering her hand from her cheek to reveal what looks like a gash from the wooden recoil, "It's okay. Just a scratch!"

She gets back up when Weiss approaches her with evident concern, "No Ruby, you're bleeding!"

"Eh? No I'm not!" Ruby retorts as she reaches to her cheek, wiping the red substance off her unharmed skin, "hmm, a berry must've smacked me across the face!"

Putting the red stuff in her mouth, her eyes light up as she tastes the sugary sweet fruit, "Yum, _strawberries!_" This of course sends Weiss' mind into overdrive.

_Must... Resist... Licking off the rest myself... Calm yourself, Weiss! _She continues mentally repeating the last part to herself before Ruby's voice finally breaks through to her.

"Weiss? ...Weiss!"

"Oh! Erm, yes Ruby?" The snowy-haired champion quickly tries to recover, shaking off her thoughts and trying to focus on the girl in front of her.

"I was saying, would you like some of this?"

Weiss' eyes widen at the question, blushing profusely and stammering a response as she turns away, "U-Uh, um... huh? Um, I mean, m-maybe later..."

Ruby raises an eyebrow at the response as the two girls continue walking side by side through the forest. 'Later'?

"Mm, okay."

And after another moment or so of silent trudging through the woods, Weiss decides to begin conversation once more.

"So, Ruby, tell me about yourself. Do you have a Semblance?" It's an innocent question, and a test for herself to make sure she has full control of herself while talking to her new partner.

"Oh sure!" Ruby replies with glee, "Watch _this!_"

And running in circles around her partner, Weiss is suddenly surrounded by brilliant streaks of crimson red around her and a flurry of rose petals which she reaches out to touch with an awed smile, grabbing one out of the air and stashing it away in her jacket pocket before Ruby stops in front of her.

"I can do that thing!"

"That's... That's _incredible_, Ruby!" Weiss cries out while looking up at the residual rose petals still falling around them with a wide grin, "how long have you been able to do that?"

Ruby shrugs and readies herself to tell her story as the pair continue walking together.

"Ever since I was little. I grew up in this island called Patch, and I discovered my semblance when I saved my big sister from a Goliath. She had just discovered her semblance at Signal and thought she could kill a Grimm in one punch and picked a fight with the biggest one she could find!"

"Oh, dear! What happened?"

"Well," Ruby continues, pouting as she recalled the memories, "while she was able to do some real damage to it, it landed a solid hit on her with its trunk and knocked her out. I saw the fight and started running as fast as I could toward her when I saw the big thing raise its foot to squish her!"

Stopping for a moment to stifle a sob, Ruby feels Weiss put a hand on her shoulder and smile at her warmly until she's ready to continue.

"I thought I wasn't gonna make it on time... But suddenly, I did. And even though we were miles from home, we were suddenly at our front door in the blink of an eye."

"That must've been difficult, but I'm glad you saved her..."

"Me too!" She replies, her usual cheer slowly returning, "And after that, I began using my power to help people, even when I was admitted into Signal! It was cool! I had to keep my identity a secret, and it was interesting to see how many cool superhero names my alter ego got, heh..."

"Like?" Weiss asks, cocking a brow in interest.

"Well for the first year, I was known mostly as The Red Streak according to some fan blogs, but later as..." Ruby pauses for effect before the reveal, "_The Flash! _I liked the second one better!"

To that, Weiss laughs light-heartedly, a sound that Ruby would never have thought would be so sweet and lively, before glancing at her with an amused expression.

"And did you have any arch enemies, 'Flash'?"

"Actually, yeah. People knew him as The Yellow Blur, or as I liked to call him... The Man in The Yellow Suit! But when people started calling me The Flash, he was dubbed The Reverse Flash."

Weiss, a little more seriously, continues, "That sounds ominous. Did you ever defeat him?"

"No..." Ruby admits, looking down as they walk along once more, "But I did meet him. He told me I'd be very important someday. That all the trouble he caused was to train me and that all I had left to do was to go to my uncle and become a scythe-wielder... Oh, and that his persona's _true_ name was and always would be Savage Dandelion."

"Pfft. That's a terrible name." Weiss replies with a scoff.

"That's what I thought, too! But then he disappeared, just like that. And then I was accepted to Beacon. And here I am."

"Wow..." Weiss begins, and is about to continue before a loud roar is heard in the area, "we should probably get going, the temple shouldn't be too far now."

Ruby looks around for the source of the sound and gulps, "Good idea..."

Little does she know that said sound is from a King Taijitu.

"A what?"

Darn it, Ruby... just follow Weiss.

* * *

><p>But yes, it's a King Taijitu that has been stalking its prey in a little black bow elsewhere in the forest that finally pounces on her with a loud roar. Quickly surrounding her with its large, hissing body, its opponent adopts a fighting stance as the snake coils together in front of her and attacks with its long fangs.<p>

Blake grunts as she leaps out of the way, the snake's mouth hitting the ground and instantly coming up again to hit her back with its snout in mid leap. Able to recover herself, she lands in a crouch when the serpent encircles her again, but this time she unleashes Gambol Shroud before jumping up and firing at the creature.

"Hiyah!"

Flipping backwards in midair, Blake lands a solid kick to the snake's snout and slashes at its black head before it flows around her and tries to bite her again. She flips over it and drives her weapon into its skull, pausing for a moment without sensing the serpent-like Grimm's twin white head behind her.

But turning and looking up at the white head as it launches itself at her, the raven-haired girl dodges it and lands just in time to see the head slither towards her, letting it get closer before running at it and leaping onto the black head to slide over its body and blast the other head.

However, she's unprepared for the white half that blindsides her with a crushing head-butt, knocking her off to the floor and leaving her to merely raise her arm and distantly cry "No!" to the gaping mouth of the black head as it approaches to swallow her whole.

And it does.

Rearing its black head up and about to roar in victory, its primal cry is cut short however by a blade that suddenly erupts from the back of its skull, and with the recoil of consecutive discharges gains enough momentum to slice the hide of the King Taijitu from the inside all the way down the length of its body in a spiral, like some sort of unholy orange peel, before a final blast blows the white head clean off and the stump falls over its fellow fallen half.

Out of said stump emerges a slightly damp Blake, who sheathes her weapon and rights her bow before turning back to the disintegrating beast with a small smirk.

"Silly Grimm, eating a Belladonna can kill you."

She barely finishes brushing herself off when a strange, animal-like noise is heard above her.

_MEEEOOOWWW!_

She looks up and meets the upside-down eyes of Yang Xiao Long.

"I still don't think that's what a puma sounds like," Blake quips, chuckling lightly.

But before she can continue, the sudden aftertaste of Grimm innards nearly causes her to lose her lunch, and she has to spit to get that terrible sensation out of her mouth. An action which a still upside-down Yang immediately understands.

"Eesh, Blake, letting a Grimm do you like that on the first date? You're not _that_ easy, and I should know!~"

Blake deadpans at her new partner, doing her best to hide the faintest of smiles, "Yang..."

In response, Yang gives her friend a "Boop!" on the nose, causing Blake to finally crack a smile before another roar is heard in the distance.

"We should go. That Grimm sounded rather large."

Squinting her eyes and pouting as if analyzing the sound, the blonde brawler snaps her fingers in an exaggerated gesture of realization.

"Ursa Major, to be exact! About... forty meters away, and closing fast!"

Blake is taken aback at the keen display of deduction and crosses her arms mildly impressed, "Oh _really_, Miss Xiao Long? How can you be so sure?"

Yang crosses her arms as well to mimic her friend, which also serves to keep her ample... endowments... from dangling any lower than they should in said compromising position, "Well Miss Belladonna, if you _must_ know, it's because I _brought_ it here!"

"You _what!?_" the girl in the black bow retorts wide-eyed.

"Well, _yeah_. How else d'ya think I got in this tree? Besides, it'd be mean not to share the fun! So uh... Xiao _Long _is it gonna take for ya to get me _down_ from here? Cuz I got a plan!"

Blake sighs with a heavy facepalm, "Seriously Yang, I bet the universe could be warped and beaten around six ways to Sunday and you'd _still_ have those god-awful puns."

"You know you love me!~" Yang replies with exaggerated kissy faces.

Blake rolls her eyes as her thoughts have the final words - _To be determined..._

* * *

><p>"Yes, everything's going according to plan..." The Headmaster states maniacally from the cliffs, now donning his own tablet whose jade green case cover bears the golden letters OTP, "Soon, all my pairings will be canon!"<p>

Behind him, Glynda releases an exasperated sigh as she watches her boss indulge in another one of his disturbing hobbies aside from anime. That General RTS fellow is right, the Headmaster had been at this for _years, _matching up every student he possibly could during their time at Beacon. In fact, he had become so proficient at covertly manipulating the love lives of teenagers that less than five percent of last year's graduating class walked away single.

_If only he had put this much effort into hunting_, she now muses as he continues watching the four-way screen on his tablet intently, _the Grimm would probably be extinct._

"Ozpin, don't you think it a little _creepy_ to be playing Cupid for teens?"

"Nonsense!" He exclaims, turning at her while taking a sip of coffee, "Some of the greatest pairings have come from my doing! Tell me, _who_ saw to it that Saber and Shirou had no further interruption to their dates to finally become a proper pairing?!"

"You did."

"And Ichigo with Rukia?"

"You did."

"Naruto and Hinata!"

"You, Ozpin."

"_Goku and Vegeta!_"

"You- _wait_. Vegito was _your_ doing?!" The disciplinarian exclaims in disbelief.

"_Yes_, so unless you'd like to be bonded with Professor Port by my remaining pair of Potara Earrings, I suggest you keep your commentary to yourself."

"Understood, sir!" She complied, since GlynPort was indeed a disturbing image.

But yes, each of those eight great Hunters of their times had attended Beacon at one point or another in their lives... and Ozpin, the great Ship-Wizard, was there to plant the seeds of love in each pair! Just like the eight future Hunters he had his sights on now.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he turns back to his tablet with a final draught of his heavenly brew, "They should be reaching the temple at any moment."

"Speaking of which," Glynda resumes as she studies her own tablet as well, "what did you use as relics this year?"

The Professor merely chuckles to himself enigmatically as the dots on his tablet of the four new pairs slowly converge on the temple grounds.

* * *

><p>From the forest, Jaune and Pyrrha sprint into a clearing that reveals the circular stone temple, broken and decrepit except for the platforms around its inside, holding several objects they can't make out quite yet.<p>

"That wasn't too hard!" Jaune exclaims happily, pointing at the other side of the clearing where Ren and Nora suddenly appear, "Look, even those guys made it already!"

"Well, it is not like this place is very difficult to find!" Purrha replies warmly, sharing a smile with her partner as they approach the structure.

* * *

><p>"By Monty, they're <em>right!<em>" Ozpin exclaims at his tablet from the cliffs, "We're making this too easy on them!"

He then dramatically points his cane at his unamused assistant, "Glynda, it's _time_... RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"

She merely rolls her eyes, "We couldn't get a Kraken this year."

"Budget cuts?" Ozpin asks, visibly deflated by the news.

"Yes, budget cuts."

"Stupid lack of funding," the peeved Headmaster grumbles to himself, "I blame Obamacare. What's the next strongest thing we have in captivity?"

"Mmm," Glynda begins as she scrolls down her electronic list on her tablet, "Death Stalker-"

"THEN RELEASE THE DEATH STALKER!"

* * *

><p>At the ruins, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora walk across the floor and observe the items on each pedestal, now shown to be familiar shapes. Ren is the first to finally recognize the correlation as he bends down next to a pedestal to observe a small figure of Mario in his victory leap.<p>

"Super Smash Bros Character Trophies?"

"Some of them are missing," Pyrrha replies, "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"I guess the Headmaster was right, those four guys that went first probably ended up together," Jaune adds, grumbling to himself, "And I bet they took Meta-knight, the stupid cheap lame-wads."

"Very well, I suppose we should picketh one," Nora suggests, at which Jaune and Ren stop simultaneously in front of their favorite character trophies.

"Hmmmm..." Ren lets out as he studies the figure, then picks it up and turns only to see that Jaune has chosen an identical one from another platform: Wolf.

To this, they grin and hold up their trophies, exclaiming in unison, "_Playtime's over, Star Fox!_" to which both Pyrrha and Nora facepalm.

Nora is about to berate her peers' love for Nintendo when a sudden disturbing sound and nearby yelling brings their attention to the forest.

"Did you hear that? What should we do?" Jaune asks Pyrrha, trying to get her attention away from whatever she's now looking at above them and to the spot in the forest he's focused on.

But before she can get him to look up at the sky to the screaming figure yelling "Heads up!", the red-hooded projectile lands in a convenient seated position on Jaune's outstretched arm. Noticing the change in weight, he turns to see the woozy girl.

"Oh, hey Ruby."

"Ugh... what _was_ that?" She drawls dizzily, shaking away the cutesy Beowolves and stars circling her head.

"Did that girl just fall out of the sky?" Rendon asks casually at his partner.

"I..." Nora begins, but is interrupted by another equally scary roar coming from behind the treeline at the _opposite_ end of the clearing.

"Do you guys hear that?" Pyrrha asks, her attention now brought to the new disturbance.

But it is Ren who is the first to distinguish a secondary sound accompanying the roaring.

"Oh, how I _hate_ that song."

Everyone, including Ruby, stare at Ren with confusion until the approaching voice that is accompanying the Grimm roars goes into a full-blown chorus.

"I CAME IN LIKE A _WREEEEE-CKING BAAAAALL!~_"

_**CRASH!**_

And literally _exploding _through the foliage at the height of the chorus, the flabbergasted students watch a full-grown Ursa Major literally _flying_ through the air before crashing into and literally _demolishing_ the forest temple.

_**BOOOM!**_

And first to emerge from the rubble is a pumped up Yang in her aviators, who quickly fist-pumps in celebration before dashing up to her new ride.

"Aww... It's bwoken..."

Next to emerge is a panting Blake who slowly staggers towards her partner.

"Yang! Please... Don't ever do that again," she pleads in exasperation, only to realize that the blonde brawler has reappeared elsewhere in the temple and is picking up a small figure from the rubble wearing a power suit and armed with an arm cannon.

"Samus Aran! Huntress of Metroids, Bounty Hunter Extraordinaire! ...and a fellow blonde!~" she exclaims happily before claiming the piece.

"_Yang!_"

"Coming, Blakey!~" she replies with a giggle.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Ren asks casually at his partner.

"I..." Nora begins again, but is once again interrupted by the delighted squeals of a certain crimsonette that suddenly dashes over to the blonde.

"Yang? Is that you?"

"Oh! Hey sis!"

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asks in excitement.

Yang merely sighs with a small grin before replying, "It's a long story."

And finally, the ominous presence on the other side of the clearing becomes known as Weiss erupts through the tree line in a burst of speed. With a Death Stalker hard on her heels. Despite herself, she catches sight of her partner and exhales in relief, fearing the worst since the scorpion-like Grimm had whipped her through the air in a surprise attack.

"_Ruby!_"

The crimsonette turns and sees her partner, "_Weiss!_"

"Ice?" Blake asks.

"_Weiss_." Jaune states.

"_Ruby_." Pyrrha corrects mistakenly.

"_Weiss!_" Ruby yells again.

"_YANG!~_" The blonde pops up, throwing everyone off-balance.

"Did that girl just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Ren asks casually at his partner.

Nora, getting madder and madder this whole time, finally explodes, "_I cannot taketh this anymore! Couldst thou all simply cease and desist for TWO SECONDS before absurdity ensues once more!?_"

One crocodile...

Two crocodile...

Ding!

_RAWWWR!_

_Splat!_

Weiss lands on her side in front of the group, to which Ruby helps her up before looking at the rest.

"Guys? That thing's getting closer! What are we gonna do?"

Rubbing her temples, Nora is the first to answer, "Look, there be no sense in tempting our fates set by Valhalla. Our objective lies before us."

"She's right." Jaune declares, apparently one of the only ones who can fully understand her accent, "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live," Ruby quips, "that's an idea I can get behind!"

Yang then holds out her prize, "Well I got Samus the Ultimate Huntress! I even found another one just like it for Blakey here~"

"Only _one_ relic per pair..." Blake corrects before giving her partner a small smile, "But thank you for the thought."

"Meh, alright. Here ya go, Rubes," the blonde brawler begins as she throws the second trophy to her little sister, "Besides, I don't think you'll be able to find anything in that pile of rocks anymore!"

Pyrrha now turns to the advancing Grimm as it closes the distance to a few dozen yards, "Time we left!"

"Right," Jaune seconds, waving to the others, "Let's go!"

Pyrrha smiles as the scene - the students following her Jaune's commands and racing over the hill to the cliffs - but suddenly feels confused when he holds his hand out to her with a warm grin.

"Come, old friend. I can conquer the world with one hand, but only as long as you hold the other!"

Despite it only being meant platonically by the knight, Pyrrha sees only one reason to like him more as she happily takes his hand.

_Alright_, he now thinks to himself as they catch up to the group and outstrip them along with Ren and Nora, _I've rallied the troops, our pairs have retrieved our relics, and we've evaded death. Now to scale this impossibly tall cliff! But, what is this!?_

His thoughts stop him short as he, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora stop on the bridge, the other four barely making it to the edge when a sudden whistling sound rips through the air around them.

Trying to catch up with its source, they soon discern a dark shadow streaking across the skies but are too late to act when three dark blasts erradicate half the bridge, effectively separating the group into two teams. Jaune narrows his eyes.

"It cannot be. I thought they were extinct!"

Ren looks over at his peer with some confusion.

"What was extinct?"

"The Fury of the Night..." Pyrrha begins, "the Night Fury itself!"

"Impossible, the extremely rare breed of Nevermore? They're the only Grimm to have ever been known to possess the ability to fire weapons-grade projectiles from their mouths!" Ren replies with disbelief.

"And I now ask you to join me as the brother I never had," Jaune begins with a blaze of aura and a shining grin at the boy as he holds his hand out to him, "you who I noticed has a mind for Super Smash Bros and the skill to use Wolf! Tell me, will you and your partner aid us in our quest to tame the untamable!?"

Ren and Nora merely trade glances before the stoic takes the knight's hand in the ultimate act of Bronyhood.

"I would be honored to help you reach the heavens, brother."

"Good! For I have a plan!"

Each nodding once in unison, they glare at the bird in the skies as the Death Stalker catches up with the four girls still on the mainland.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello again! Long time no see! In case you didn't know, this is Savage, and I'm slowly coming back from hiatus as ThePhantomScribe! I didn't mean to have the story deleted, which booted many good readers from the followers list, and for that I apologize!**

**Now, to make this switch work, I had to change stories around a bit which gives me certain creative liberties, so I hope you liked it! And yes, I cut off the chapter at halfway through Players and Pieces because the other half will be part of The Badge and the Burden as one whole chapter! Yaaay!**

***_ahem_* Anyway, some of you may know of my other Star Wars / RWBY crossover fic, ****_Jaune Arc: The Force Unleashed_****, and my current pseudo-novel ****_Chronicle_**** (previously known as The Valean War) with OCs and alternate realities and stuff. Feel free to check them out if you haven't, and to those who used to follow them - they're back! Alive and kicking! :D**

**Oh, and shoutouts throughout the chapter to some of my favorite fics! Can you guess which ones? ;) If so, leave a review, or a fave and follow if you'd like to keep up with future chapters! Anyway, this is PhantomScribe signing out! Take care!**

**And Happy Reading!**


	5. EMERGENCY AT ROOSTERTEETH

**_EMERGENCY AT ROOSTERTEETH, PLEASE READ!_**

* * *

><p><em>Hello, I'd like to apologize beforehand that this is not the next chapter to this fic, but as some of you may or may not know, there has been a very unfortunate development at RoosterTeeth.<em>

_The lead animator and co-creator of many of RT's shows like RWBY, Monty Oum, has fallen very ill and is currently in critical condition. According to RT co-CEO Burnie Burns, "it is unknown if he'll be able to make a recovery."_

_If you have a moment, please visit the main RT site and follow the new post to the link to lend a hand with the medical costs to him and his family, or at the very least, let's provide some much needed encouragement from FFnet with heartfelt words. We're all terribly sorry to hear of his situation and as an entire community, let's show him our support in every way we can!_

_I'll be leaving this chapter up in all my fics until further notice/news from RT HQ._

_Thank you all for reading_

_**-TPS** _


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